Extratropical cyclone

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/extratropical-cyclone

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the associated phenomena?Widespread precipitation, strong winds, thunderstorms, hail, and storm surges
2. How does an extratropical cyclone form?They start when a wave appears along the polar front where warm and cold air meet. The wave grows, the pressure drops, and the storm begins to spin counter‑clockwise in the north or clockwise in the south.
3. Why do extratropical cyclones bring rain and snow?When the storm moves, warm air rises and cools, forming clouds that release heat. This makes rain or snow fall, and the cold front can also bring thunderstorms or hail.

Baroclinicity: A condition in the atmosphere where surfaces of constant pressure intersect surfaces of constant density.
Coriolis effect: An apparent force caused by Earth's rotation that deflects moving objects.
Latent heat: The heat absorbed or released during a phase change of a substance, like water vapor condensing into liquid.